10 years for "extreme" sexual abuse of cousin

A man has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following his conviction on twenty-four counts of indecent assault. Thomas Patton, aged 51, was found guilty by jury in July of abusing his young cousin over a six-year period between 1984 and 1990 at Castlefinn, County Donegal. The offending began when the victim was six years old. Judge Melanie Greally imposed four years for offences committed when Patton was a minor and six years for those committed in adulthood, to run consecutively. The judge cited the extreme nature of the abuse, its duration and regularity, the victim's age, breach of trust, and severe psychological harm as aggravating factors. In mitigation, she noted Patton's youth during the initial offences, absence of previous convictions, and subsequent productive life. The victim, who waived anonymity, described lasting trauma and family division resulting from disclosure.